'These aren't our kids': 'Fox and Friends' host says immigrant children shouldn't be treated like kids from 'Idaho or Texas'

The hosts of "Fox and Friends" continued their aggressive defense of President Donald Trump's controversial "zero tolerance" immigration policy on Friday morning.

Host Brian Kilmeade argued that immigrant children separated from their parents by the government don't deserve the same treatment as American kids.

The hosts of "Fox and Friends" continued their spirited defense of President Donald Trump's controversial "zero tolerance" immigration policy on Friday, arguing that the more than 2,300 immigrant children who have been separated from their parents by the government in recent weeks don't deserve the same treatment as American kids.

Brian Kilmeade, a veteran host of Trump's favorite cable news show, said he could understand why "women and children" shouldn't be torn apart, but suggested there's a limit to the amount of compassion the children should be shown by the US government.

"Like it or not, these aren't our kids," he said. "Show them compassion, but it's not like he is doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas."

"These are people from another country and now people are saying that they're more important than people in our country who are paying taxes and who have needs as well," he continued.

Kilmeade went on to exaggerate the flow of undocumented immigrants currently entering the country, which is not at "crisis" highs.

"It wasn't President Trump's idea to have everyone leave from Central and South America in June and walk up to the border," Kilmeade said. "We just can't let everybody in that wants to be here."

Host Ainsley Earhardt added, "He just wants to make sure we vet who's coming across the border, in case it's MS-13 or drugs."

Kilmeade interrupted to tell the story of a six-year-old Costa Rican boy who was rescued by the Arizona Border Patrol after he was abandoned by smugglers just across the Mexican border.

Under overwhelming bipartisan pressure, Trump reversed his policy of family separation on Thursday, signing an executive order that will allow immigrant parents to remain with their children before they're prosecuted. But immigration lawyers and experts are concerned the order's vague language gives the government room to continue separating families, and the government has yet to clarify its process for reuniting the separated families.

Kilmeade addressed the controversy surrounding his comments later on Friday, arguing on Twitter that he does not believe American children deserve more compassion than non-American children.

"Of course — I didn't mean to make it seem like children coming into the U.S. illegally are less important because they live in another country," Kilmeade wrote. "I have compassion for all children, especially for all the kids separated from their parents right now."

He added, "Nobody wants to see children in these circumstances and glad they are on their way to being reunited with their parents."